“It shouldn’t, but I’ll keep that in mind. Are you ready, then?”
“I am, yeah.” Really ready to get out of here. I was still a little nauseous, to tell you the truth. I wanted Gatorade and to lay down for a while. I was really starting to hate the Hub.
A Door abruptly appeared in the opening, as fully intact as if a carpenter had hung it there himself. It glowed to my magical sight, as every Door did, a clear indication that it connected to a different space beyond its immediate surroundings. I cheered before realizing the walkie-talkie button wasn’t pressed and quickly remedied that. “Klaus, it connected. I’m stepping through.”
I opened the door and wasn’t even properly inside when two pairs of hands grabbed me and hauled me through. I latched onto both of them and ended up in a three-way group hug, and I was never so relieved in my life to be in one. Klaus had me more around my waist, Ciarán around my shoulders, creating this messy octopus of limbs. I didn’t care. I was shaking, literally trembling from head to toe, still nauseous from my fright, with tears threatening to spill over. Only their hands, comforting and with strong grips, kept me from falling apart altogether. I’d come far too close to death.
“Do you have her?” my master demanded irately. “Don’t keep me in suspense over here!”
Ciarán answered with his walkie-talkie, “We’ve got her. She’s alright.”
“Klaus, get her down here now.”
Klaus was perfectly okay with this plan, as he mostly let go and gave me a pat to the cheek. He did keep an arm around my waist, half-support, but mostly because neither of us wanted to let go of each other just yet. “Thank you for being so quick-witted, child. I’ve never blessed your brains so much as I have today.”
“That was beyond freaking scary,” I admitted, making a face. I nearly vibrated with the need to get out of here. Tower and I were no longer friends. “I’d rather face down a wendigo any day.”
“That’s saying something, since you’ve done exactly that.” Ciarán’s eyes took me in, studying me from head to toe and his expression drew into a frown. “You’re looking more than a little green, a stór.”
“I’m really bad with rollercoasters, and that was like the worst rollercoaster ever. I threw up after I landed and I’m still queasy, honestly.” Gatorade, lay down. Gatorade, lay down. It was my mantra.
“We’ll get you down and then you can lie still for a bit,” Klaus promised over his shoulder. He was already at the door, making it into a Door so we could quickly leave.
Sounded like heaven. Especially since no stairs would be involved in my descent. Kobold magic for the win.
Klaus’s Doors were a thing of beauty, and it connected perfectly to the one at the base of the tower. We went through without hesitation, and I was never so grateful to have flat ground all around me. And no trees. Especially no trees.
Since I really still wanted that Gatorade, I made myself one and sipped at it as we walked back toward a relatively clear plaza. Klaus paused us there, near a fountain that no longer ran with water, and used one of the shop’s doors nearby to create yet another Door. He reached in and came out with a big recliner, which he moved out. I was promptly situated into it, curled up with a fuzzy blanket, feet propped up on an ottoman.
“Kobold powers are the bomb,” I told Klaus, mostly to make him smile.
He stroked hair from my face, smiling down at me. He still looked very worried and upset, but Klaus hated it when I got hurt. I didn’t expect him to be okay with what just happened. None of us were okay with it.
“They come in handy from time to time,” he said gently. “How are you feeling, child?”
“Loads better. Starting to really hate the Hub, though.”
“I admit I’m not fond of it myself.” He kept stroking my hair, cuddling me against his side, and I could practically feel his protective instincts go into overdrive. It was nice, having his warmth pressed in close, and I leaned into it, taking the comfort.
Ciarán went cat and curled himself into my side, front paws resting on my knees. My hand naturally gravitated there and stroked him. Really, was there any motion more soothing than petting a cat? Especially one cuddled up and snuggly. He even purred at me. With both of them curled around me like this, I felt more than a little loved.
Aisling’s voice came over the walkie-talkie. “Loves, I’m glad Reagan’s alright, but we’ve a bigger problem at hand just now. That tree, I do believe, was the tether for the Hub.”
It took an embarrassingly long second for that to connect. I blame the fall for scrambling my brain. Of course, for the platforms to connect to something on the Hub, the tree would have to be it. And if the tree was poof, no more, then…oh crap. Crappity crap crap, we miiiiight be in trouble. “Houston, we have all the problems.”
Jackson demanded, “But if the tree was in such bad shape that a single touch destroyed it, doesn’t that mean it wasn’t connected in the first place? It couldn’t have possibly functioned in that state, could it?”
“Could and apparently did,” Liam corrected grimly. “I’m at the gate right now, checking the connection, and the tether is in ragged ribbons now. No using it.”
“It must have been just intact enough to anchor the tether,” Oisin theorized. “The shell of it was still there, after all. Reagan, the hole you fell down, any hint of moisture in there?”
I lifted the walkie-talkie to answer, “No, none. Dry as a bone.”
“That’s it, then. That’s why. Without a water supply going to the tree, it dried up past redemption. Everyone, I hate to break it to you, but the Hub is done for.”
James was quick to protest, “Surely all of you druids can help us grow another tree and tether it back in here!”
“Growing the tree isn’t a problem, no,” Aisling agreed heavily. “But James, don’t be daft, man. Think this through. That tree was huge, larger than any Redwood, and the Hub must have been built around it. The central tower, at least, was built around it, which means we’d have to tear this place half apart to get a tree back in. We can’t grow one in situ. The conditions up here aren’t right for it.”
Richard cut in plaintively, “Can we argue about building the Hub later and figure out first how to get back to London? I can’t say I fancy living out the rest of my life up here.”
“I came up here with you as a secondary measure against this very problem, remember?” Klaus reminded him patiently. “We can pass through one of my Rooms and return to London.”
“Oh. I, ah, actually did forget that for a moment. Ever so glad you’re with us, Klaus.”
“So am I.”
I thirded this with a vigorous nod. I may have found Klaus’s caution a little ridiculous and overbearing before, but it turned out he’d been totally right to worry. His caution had just saved a lot of lives. I guess when you’re as old as he was, you develop a fine meter of when it was all about to hit the fan. Or maybe it was just that he’d learned to take things cautiously and not trust in good luck.
“Alright, you lot, I’m not inclined to stay up here much longer,” James informed us, sounding really put out. Like, cat-with-a-stepped-on-tail put out. “This place is bloody dangerous even when we’re being cautious, and it’s not giving us much in the way of answers. We’re nearing two o’clock in the afternoon as it is, so I vote we spend another two hours up here, investigate as much as we can, then go home. We’ll convene and talk about what each of us have figured out back at Agna’s and then decide from there if we’ll return to the Hub. Sound good?”
A chorus of assents answered him.
“As for Reagan,” James continued, “I think she’s had enough for the day. I know her guardians would like her in a safer spot for today. Reagan, how about you nip ahead of us to Agna’s, relax, and wait for us to rejoin you?”
I didn’t want to wuss out, but I really had reached my limit. I was still rattled from my near-death experience, and if I never set foot in the Hub again, it would be too soon. I wanted out. I was dreami
ng of normalcy to help put myself back on an equilibrium. A hot bath, anime, maybe some Final Fantasy to kill all the things sounded like a good way to improve my mood.
“He speaks sense, devushka,” Zoya encouraged. “You’ve had a bad scare and that fall likely scrambled you up. Take a rest. You’ve more than earned it.”
It didn’t seem like anyone was giving me an option on this. And truthfully, I wasn’t fighting it too hard. The Hub and I were no longer friends, it wasn’t invited to my birthday party anymore, and it was even crossed off my Christmas card list. I was more than ready to leave. “Okay.”
Klaus informed them, “The Door for your equipment is at the base of the tower, to the west side, in a small plaza. I’ll leave the recliner out here as a marker for the right spot. I’ll take her through, see her settled, and then return for all of you.”
There was clear relief in Zoya’s voice. “Thank you, Klaus.”
Good to his word, Klaus created a Door to the equipment room and then took me through it, Ciarán trotting at my heels. Agna sat on the other side of the room, peeling potatoes. When we came through the back door and into the kitchen, she looked up sharply. Her hands paused on the potato, her eyes taking us in.
“What happened?” she demanded sharply, already rising.
“We were at the top of the central tower when Reagan fell through a deep hole,” Klaus reported, each word bitten off. “She’s shaken and nauseous. Agna, you’ve the fixings for porridge?”
“Of course I do.”
“I’ll make some for her in a moment. Child, how about a lie down?”
I shook my head. “Can I have a hot bath? I’m really sore. And I feel kind of gross and sweaty.”
“Of course,” he assured me, turning me by the waist to lead me upstairs. “Epsom salts too, to help with the soreness. Do you want your porridge sweet?”
“Can I have the pumpkin porridge again?” Klaus had made it for me once, coaxing me into trying a bite because frankly, pumpkin porridge sounded weird to me. It was apparently popular over in Asian countries, though. After that first bite, I may or may not have eaten the rest of the pot that night. There were no leftovers.
“You may have whatever you think you can stomach. I’ll be pleased to make that for you.” Klaus seemed happy I wanted to eat.
And I didn’t, really, but I suspected that after relaxing in a hot bath for a while, I might change my mind on that.
He drew the bath for me and fetched another change of clothes, something super comfy and loose fitting. Then he withdrew and I was able to slide into blissfully hot water.
I may have zoned out for a while, just sitting there, splashing the water a bit with my fingers. The stress of what happened eased out of my joints. I hadn’t realized how much my body had locked up until I took a breath and things released. The Epsom salts had been a really good call.
Eventually, I got bored of just sitting there. And I felt a little bad that everyone else was still working and I wasn’t. Granted, I’d been sent home early for a reason, but still. I reached over to the counter, snagging my phone, and chose to upload all the pictures and video I had taken today into the Gramarye folder. People around the world were hungry for more information, for news of what we’d discovered. I figured an update couldn’t hurt.
Then I opened a Word doc and typed out everything I could remember while it was all fresh in my head. I cheated and used speech-to-text after a while because no one wanted to type all of that out on a phone. But getting the impressions of it all down was the important part, not the method.
By that point, the water had cooled significantly, and I found my appetite was back after all. Pumpkin porridge sounded good. I dragged my pruned self out and threw on comfy clothes, feeling more human. As I returned downstairs, I heard voices. Oh? Had people returned? Granted, it had been about two hours.
I still had two steps to go when Zoya appeared at the bottom and looked up at me. Her eyes crinkled up in a smile, but it drooped a bit around the edges. “How are you, devushka?”
“I’m loads better,” I assured her, closing in for a hug. She wrapped both arms around my shoulders and rocked us a bit. It felt nice, this comfort.
“I’m very glad you’re alright,” she said against my hair, and some of the tension eased out of her. “And very glad you’re a quick study, da? Still, I’m of two minds about you going back in.”
“Yeah, me too.” I’d go if they wanted me to, but part of me really rather wouldn’t. I may be traumatized for life. Well, okay, not really, but still.
She pulled back and looked me dead in the eye, studying my expression and weighing her words. “How do you feel about staying here tomorrow and organizing all of our findings? The pictures and video and reports.”
“I’m okay with that, if that’s what you want me to do. I did a little myself while I was in the bath.”
“Da, good. I’m not sure if we’ll go back in tomorrow,” she admitted, this at a more confidential volume. “Richard and Jackson both think it’s a bad idea to dig any deeper than we have. But we might go back up with a witch, when Seo Ra Im gets here, and do a seeking spell for blueprints. If none respond to her call, then we’ll stop. You weren’t the only one almost hurt today.”
Alarmed, I demanded, “Who else?”
“Aisling almost took a tumble, too, and Richard got a nasty cut we had to stop and attend to after you left. Not as scary as your fall, but still. Not good.”
“Crikey,” I muttered. “That place really is dangerous. I can see now why they didn’t try to fix it.”
“Don’t think it’s fixable,” Zoya agreed, looking like she’d bitten into something rotten and covered in mold. “But the alternative is that we have to design and build another Hub. From scratch.”
Uh. Oh boy. “Mactep, just out of curiosity, does the job of an Imagineer ever get easier?”
“Not that I’ve noticed, devushka.” She laughed but it ended in a pained groan. “Not that I’ve noticed.”
Klaus fussed. That was the only word for it. He prepared favorite snacks, got me cozy and situated in an overstuffed chair in my bedroom, all tucked in with a blanket and a manga. How he found Yona of the Dawn, I do not know, but I enjoyed the reread. It was like he read minds of what I needed to process what I’d lived through today. He didn’t hover, precisely, but found ways to check in and bring me things, like water. I was feeling rather dehydrated so drank everything he handed me.
On his fifth trip up the stairs, I could hear him speaking with someone. “It was a sharp fall, but she’s not hurt. Sore, nauseated, and rattled, yes, but not seriously hurt. I know, I’m bringing the laptop up to her now.”
Ah. Nana. Must be. Klaus wouldn’t think to call anyone else. I’d briefly thought about calling my parents, but…that thought was more habit than anything else. I didn’t actually feel like calling them and only having half their attention. Why bother?
Klaus appeared in the doorway with laptop in hand and brought it over to me with the explanation, “Your grandmother wants to see for herself that you’re alright.”
I put the manga aside on the arm of the chair and reached for it. The woman on the screen did look fit to be tied, anxious and not shy about showing it. I barely had the laptop pointed at me before she demanded, “Are you truly alright?”
“Still a little shaky, like my insides are quivering,” I admitted. I settled the laptop comfortably on my lap, tilting the screen angle to adjust it. Ah, that was better. “And I randomly feel vertigo? Like some part of my brain is reliving the fall, which isn’t nice. But otherwise, yeah, I’m okay.”
She didn’t look entirely sold. I wasn’t a good salesman at the moment, that could be why. “Klaus said you went down almost twenty stories.”
“Holy crap, was it really that far of a drop? No wonder my body is still up in arms about it, then. I wrapped myself up in a bounce house and then landed on a net, so I bounced some, but I don’t think I have whiplash. It hasn’t set in yet if I do.”<
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“It would have if you’d wrenched something.” Nana pulled on a smile for me. “You look a little pale, but far better than you should, considering the fall.”
“Tell me about it.”
“You’re not going back up there, are you?”
“No. I mean, only if it really has to happen, but no. I’m not keen on going back, and James was upset that I almost died. Especially when we were all being cautious. It’s kind of an insult to injury thing. He said he was going to pull people out soon after I left. I’m not sure if anyone is going back up there.” I shrugged, as that didn’t bother me one iota. Not at this moment. “The Hub is basically done for, anyway, with the tree gone. There’s no way to tether any of the platforms to the Hub without that tree.”
Nana shook her head slowly from side to side. “This is a right mess.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Have you told your parents about today? In some way?”
“No. And…Nana, honestly, I’m done trying to connect to them.”
She blinked at me, head jerking back in surprise. “What’s happened?”
“It’s more what HASN’T happened. You said you’ve talked with Dad several times since I saw him in India, right?”
“Yes, we’ve been emailing almost daily.” Nana saw where this was going and winced. “He hasn’t reached out to you?”
“No. Not an email, not a text, nothing. Complete radio silence. From Mom too. It’s like, if I don’t remind them I exist, they honestly forget. I thought things might change because of India, at least for Dad. That even if he couldn’t bring himself to be a good parent, we could sort of be friends. I had common ground with him, for once. But he still isn’t interested in talking with me.” I spread both hands in a shrug. “They don’t know how to be parents to me, or even friends. I’m done breaking myself against that wall of indifference.”
Nana looked torn between murder and heartbreak. If her son was anywhere within arm’s reach, she would have cheerfully strangled him. “I don’t know where he got this from, Reagan. I really don’t. I always invested in him. His father did too. We made our child our priority.”
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